Happily Everafter
by SugahRush
Summary: Sabrina and Puck are married, but all is not well. There are rumors of a prophecy, but what does it say? And how do they find out?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey everyone! This is my first SG fanfic, so let me know what you think! I won't get a chance to update next week, I'll be stranded at a summer camp without access to a computer. If you notice anything glaringly awful, please point it out. Any questions about SG, don't hesitate to PM me! Bye, and thanks so much for R&R ing. **

**~SugahRush~**

Happily Everafter

I tripped over the doorstep and almost nosedived into the hardwood floor of my parents' foyer. Almost. Fortunately, Puck was there and caught me before I fell. "Are you alright, Sabrina?" he asked. "I'm fine," I snapped, feeling determined to be irritable. I wasn't even sure why. Pregnancy is not for the faint of heart. Puck kept his arm around me, and I felt a little better. It was amazing. He used to be the bane of my existence, and now I miss him if he's gone for six hours. I took a deep breath and calmed myself, just in time for my little sister to wrap me in a huge hug. "Sabrina!" she cried. I staggered backwards into Puck, almost mashing him into the wall. "Daphne!" I replied. "How's the baby?" Daphne squealed. She was more excited about the baby than Puck and me. And that was saying something. She was so psyched you couldn't look at her directly without sunglasses. "He's fine. My charming wife, however, is a little worse for wear," Puck interjected, laughing. I would have slugged him, if Daphne wasn't still clinging to me. It was just as well, because just then my parents, Henry and Veronica Grimm, and Granny Relda appeared. "Sabrina! Puck!" Granny called. You would think she hadn't just seen us the week before last. After everyone said hi and hugged everyone else, Granny ushered us into the living room and handed out cookies. She lived with my parents now, because she was getting old, even though she didn't act like it. The house was plenty big enough, and everyone loved having her around so much. My mom clearly adored her mother-in-law. Granny is not the stereotypical mother-in-law. She's intelligent, funny, kind, brave, and her cooking has come a long way. The cookies were excellent. They tasted like tangerines or something, which was weird but delicious. We were all talking and laughing and eating tangerine cookies, and having a great time. Again, I'm amazed by how Puck used to be disgusting and repulsive and smelly, but now he actually makes very

interesting small talk. And he stopped calling Granny old lady. I never

thought she minded very much, but he stopped to be polite, and it was very

sweet of him. Usually he's not sweet to anyone but me, but he has a soft spot for Granny. And he still calls Daphne marshmallow. If her boyfriend is around, she pretends she hates it, but it reminds her of when she was little, and she likes it, I think. Ah yes. Daphne's boyfriend. As it turns out, Daphne is now dating Peter Pan. Puck can't stand it. Peter actually can grow up as an Everafter, despite the nature of his story. So he's about sixteen right now. I expect he'll get older as Daphne gets older. Maybe stay a year older. The funny thing is, Peter Pan has black hair and blue eyes. Most fairy tales have it all wrong, and so Puck is constantly being mistaken for him. He doesn't claim to be the spiritual leader of bad apples anymore, but it still bothers him. A lot. If he would wear less green it wouldn't happen as much. I tell him that all the time. But he doesn't listen to me. Actually, green is a good color for him, but it's also a Peter Pan thing. Just at that moment, Daphne speaks up. "Oh, Sabrina, Puck, I forgot to say, Peter is joining us for dinner," she said, completely oblivious to Puck wincing beside me and sighing loudly. "Oh, goody, everyone's favorite flying boy," he muttered. "The kid just can't grow up." Which was true.

"He's almost as immature as you are. And you have about 1,500 years on him," I said. Puck snorted. "Whatever," he said. Now he was the one determined to be irritable. I kissed him on the nose. "Come on, Puck, it's a week from Christmas. Give the kid a break," I said, applying to his better nature. I don't really like to see them fight. It can be funny, but on the off chance that Daphne marries the guy, I would rather he didn't despise my husband. Puck considers this briefly, then shrugs. "Fine. But only because you insist," he says, as if I asked him to go out with the guys wearing an evening gown. "Thank you," I say, trying not to laugh. After a few more minutes of chatting with my family, I hear the doorbell ring. Daphne jumps up immediately, looking excited. Was I that obvious about it when I dated Puck? I hope not. This is downright embarrassing. A couple of minutes later, I'm starting to wonder what the holdup is. Then Daphne and Peter appear in the doorway. Daphne's cheeks are bright pink, and Peter has lip gloss on his face. Aha. _That_ is the holdup. I can't help but be a little annoyed at the guy. He's about 2,500 years old, and he was just making out with a fifteen-year-old. That seems a little wrong to me. But then, he was 12 for most of that

time, so I guess I'm being paranoid because my baby sister is dating. And come to think of it, I'm 20 and Puck is about 4,000, so maybe I shouldn't be so critical of Peter. Besides, Daphne clearly doesn't mind too much. My mom has a huge smile on her face. Apparently, she doesn't mind too much either. My dad, however, is frowning, and looks rather disapproving. So I'm not the only one who thinks Peter is being a little forward. Oh well. I'm sure my dad put him through the third degree before he let the guy past the entryway. How bad can he be? That question is a little painful. I can't help but think of Mirror. He was in many ways my best friend, and then it turns out he was the leader of the Scarlet Hand. I trusted him with everything. And he was pretty bad indeed. I shove those thoughts away. I can discuss Peter with Puck later. I know Puck is a little unfriendly towards the guy, but maybe we can have a logical, realistic conversation on the way home. I tune back in to the conversation. Everyone is talking about what we should name Isabel's latest litter of puppies. Poor Elvis had died three years ago, but we still had one of his puppies. Isabel hat been the runt, and no one thought she would live, but Daphne had adopted her as her own personal pet and she had turned out to be quite healthy, although a little small for a Great Dane. Isabel, apparently, was quite a flirt, because they had already given away three litters of puppies, and here was yet another. There were two boys and two girls. They ended up being named Snickerdoodle, Chocolate Chip, Gingerbread, and Cinnamon. Of course, the new owners could change the names if they wanted, but we liked to have something to call them. Puck turned to me. "Honey, have you ever thought about getting a dog?" he asked.

"A Great Dane? Are you nuts? The thing might be cute now, but it will weigh 400 pounds by the time it's full grown, and I don't want to have to walk it fifteen times a day!"

"I take it that means that no, you haven't thought about getting a dog?"

"NO! _Maybe_ a small dog, but nothing huge. And not until the baby is at least three or four."

Puck sighed. He could tell I wasn't backing down on this. And he had to admit that now wasn't the best time to get a dog. The baby was due in four

months, and the last thing I needed was a dog. In fact, I had been feeling more and more tired and nauseated lately. No, the matter was not up for discussion. Puck looked a little disappointed, but he decided to defer to my wishes. He was doing that more often, I noticed. Can't say I was complaining.

And then it was time for dinner. It was nice to eat with Granny and still get normal food. I had lived under her roof for several years, and most of her cooking involved baboon spit or donkey hooves. It was pure torture, and yet everyone but me wolfed it down like they weren't going to see food again for a week. Daphne especially. And also Puck. But now, here we were eating pork chops, biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad. The only weird item was this purplish sauce for the pork chops, and I decided to skip that. Everything was going just fine, and then Peter had to step in it. He was just sitting there next to Daphne, vaguely flirting, and then he asked my dad, "So tell, me, Henry, what happened to your father?" perfectly innocently. I don't know how the idiot didn't know, or why he was curious. Note his mistakes: 1) he called my dad Henry. He might be older, but he still looked like a teenager, and my dad did** not **like that. 2) He asked about Opa Basil. Big no-no! My dad just sighed. "It was a long, long, time ago, kid, back before I met Veronica, and I was dating Goldilocks. She wanted to see the world, and so I convinced Jake to work a spell that would shut down the barrier long enough for Goldilocks to get through. Unfortunately, there was a similar but smaller-scale spell around the insane ward at the hospital, and the Jabberwocky and Red Riding Hood escaped. My father was killed fighting the Jabberwocky." By the end of this, my dad was nearly crying. His eyes were a little red, and the pain he was in was obvious.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," said Peter, and he sounded sincere. Way to go, kid, just when I was thinking we might have a pleasant family dinner. Dad nodded, and composed himself. I sighed. Wonderful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

After dinner, Puck and I headed outside and hopped into the car. I suppose we could have flown, or used a magic ring or wand or amulet or something, but Puck just got a little red Ferrari, and so of course we went in that. I, personally, prefer my Porsche convertible, but Puck loves his car. And in case you're wondering how we got these uber-expensive cars, ask Puck. I have no idea. I think he made a bet with someone really really rich. Or maybe he attacked them with goo and pixies. I don't want to know. It was probably illegal. And inhumane. Oh well. Nothing I could do about it now. And I didn't want to give up my car. Heh. Who would? Come to think of it, I'm not sure where he got the money for the house. It's a very nice house. But hey, Puck is 4,000 years old! He has to have amassed some wealth over the years. "Puck," I begin, "What do you think of Peter? And try to be objective, here."

"Objective? You mean ignore that 1.) I am constantly being mistaken for him, that 2.) He is a total goody-two-shoes, and 3.) I have hated him since I was barely 250?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

"Ok, then, I think he's an idiot cuz he got your dad going, and that he should watch it with Daphne or Canis is gonna tear him to shreds. Have you noticed how he kept glaring at Pan the last time they were over together? Cuz I sure did. He looked angrier at the boy than I did!"

"I'll say. But hey, I'm happy to know that someone is keeping an eye on him."

"Yeah, Marshmallow needs someone looking out for her."

"She's just so innocent! How do you live through what she has, and still not even know that a guy might use you and stab you in the back?"

"How should I know? Ask Daphne."

I sighed. I was tired and a little worried about Daphne and I had a sudden craving for peanut butter. Odd. I had had a phobia of peanut butter ever since Puck spiked my PB&J sandwich with something disgusting when we were kids. I have no idea what it was, and I don't want to know. Just then, my Blackberry rang. I picked it up and pressed talk. "Hello?" I said. "Sabrina!" Daphne gasped. "I was reading Wilhelm Grimm's journal after dinner, and I found something about the baby!"

"What is it? Is it bad? How bad?"

"It's kind of confusing. I don't really know if it's bad or good or neither."

"What does it say?"

"Well there's a story here with a footnote that says there's a prophecy about the son of the King of Faerie and a mortal. Mom was looking around, and it looks like Titania watched Oberon like a hawk, thinking he would have an affair with another woman, but nothing ever happened. And that's all we know."

"But Puck isn't the King! He ditched after fifteen minutes!" 

"He quit for you, but by blood he's the true king. So I guess it still applies."

"What story was the footnote on?"

" 'The King of the Golden Mountain'".

"What's the story about?"

"Well, there's this merchant who invests all his money in some ships that sink, and long story short he accidentally promises his son to a black dwarf. So he has to turn him in in twelve years, and the boy argues that he doesn't belong to his father, so he climbs in a boat and lets the river decide his fate, and he ends up married to The Princess of the Golden Mountain, and his wife ends up mad at him and cheating on him, and he kills everyone. Pretty messed up dude."

"Yeah, I'll say."

"Anyway, we think this guy knows what the prophecy says, cuz why else would the note be on his story? But we're not sure. I'm so sorry, Sabrina."

"You and me both, Daphne."

**That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed. School is starting Wednesday, so I will be a little busy, but I should still be able to update pretty often. Please R&R! Thanks for reading.**

**~SugahRush~**


	3. Prophecy

**Hi again! I'm back with Chapter Three! In case you are completely brain dead and haven't picked up on this yet, I **_**DO NOT**_** own The Sisters Grimm. Ahem. Moving on! **

**Chapter Three**

I stared at Sabrina and nearly ran over some kid on a skateboard. I yanked the steering wheel over and pulled into a parking lot.

"What's going on?" I demanded. Something about me, obviously. Maybe they were demanding my presence in court. I was one awesome king, if I do say so myself. "Puck! Daphne found something about the baby!" she gasped.

"What about the baby?" I ask.

"We don't know. That's what's so bad. Daphne says she was reading Wilhelm's journal, and she saw a footnote on a story that says there's a prophecy about the son of the King of Faerie and a mortal. Titania watched Oberon, but nothing happened, and she thinks it means us." Sabrina was crying now, and I slipped out of my seat and into hers, wrapping my arms around her and pressing my face into her hair.

"What story was it? Do we know why it was there?"

"It was some story called 'The King of the Golden Mountain', and the main character was a homicidal lunatic who got angry at his wife for cheating on him and killed his entire court and her lover. I think her, too, but I'm not sure. Real nice story."

"But why was it there?"

"Daphne says she thinks he has a copy of it or knows what it says. But maybe he wrote it or was _inspired_ to write it or whatever."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful. So we need to go on a sight-seeing trip to the kingdom of a homicidal lunatic and recover a prophecy about our child from him? Just _peachy._" I snapped.

Sabrina burst into tears again at this.

"I thought _I_ was in charge of sarcasm and pessimism!" she said.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" I said quickly. _Way to go, Puck_, I thought. It was a tough job, being married to Sabrina, and sometimes I wondered if I was cut out for it. But I knew I couldn't live without her. I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror. My eyes were lavender and violet. Purple for worry. I glanced away, hoping Sabrina wouldn't see, but it was obvious she already had. I looked back at her. Her eyes were still filled with tears. She sniffed loudly, then took a deep breath. "I suppose we should get back over there and help look, then," she said. "Ok," I answered. Although I really and truly was allergic to books. The Old Lady, I mean, Mrs. Grimm, said that I had gone around pretending it for so long, my mind was convinced, but I say I'm just allergic to books like Sabrina was allergic to peanut butter. Or at least I think she is. She loves it, but she never eats it. So why else wouldn't she? But, the fact of the matter is, I am allergic to books. And I am willingly submitting myself to what will probably be untold hours of reading and thinking and searching and working. Love does crazy things to people.

It had taken us half an hour to get this far, but I had us back to the house in under fifteen minutes. Heh. This thing makes pretty good time. I step out of the car and go to open Sabrina's door. Then I notice the tire burn going all the way up the Grimm's driveway. Oops. I take Sabrina's hand and lead her up the driveway and sidewalk. I open the front door without knocking. I look around, but there's no one downstairs. Still holding Sabrina's hand, I head up the stairs and poke my head into the library. Marshmallow, Henry and Veronica, and the Old Lady, ahem, Mrs. Grimm, are all curled up on the plushy leather sofas and armchairs reading journals or books of old records. Canis is putting away a stack of books and moving on to another. How do they go through those things so fast? We only left forty-five minutes ago, and even Marshmallow, the slowest reader, is halfway through an immensely thick book. They must be skipping a lot of stuff. What if they miss something important? Vital, even? I'm about to speak up, but I'm hardly an expert on the reading stuff, whereas everyone here has written at least a couple of books, so I don't have a lot of room to criticize them.

I pick up one of the books beside Marshmallow and dig in. I skim, trying to find something, anything, about this Golden Mountain King guy. For the longest time I don't see anything, but then I find a copy of the original account tucked in between the pages of a story about my parents. I guess Titania wasn't the only one who doubted Oberon's faithfulness. Knowing the entire story couldn't hurt, so I unfold the stiff, yellowish paper and start to read.

_**There was once a merchant who had only one child, a son, that was very young, and barely able to run alone. He had two richly laden ships then making a voyage upon the seas, in which he had embarked all his wealth, in the hope of making great gains, when the news came that both were lost. Thus from being a rich man he became at once so very poor that nothing was left to him but one small plot of land; and there he often went in the evening to take his walk, and ease his mind a little of his trouble. **_

_**One day, as he was roaming along, thinking with no great comfort on what he had been and what he now was, and was like to be, all on a sudden there stood before him a little, rough-looking, black dwarf. "Prithee, friend, why so sorrowful?" said he to the merchant, "What is it you take so deeply to heart?" "If you would do me any good I would willingly tell you," said the merchant. "Who knows but I may?" said the little man. "Tell me what ails you, and perhaps you will find I may be of some use." Then the merchant told him how all his wealth was gone to the bottom of the sea, and how he had nothing left but that little plot of land. "Oh, trouble not yourself about that," said the dwarf, "only undertake to bring me here, twelve years hence, whatever meets you first on your going home, and I will give you as much as you please." The merchant thought that was no great thing to ask; it would most likely be his dog or his cat, or something of that sort, but he forgot his little boy Heinel; so he agreed to the bargain, and signed and sealed the bond to do what was asked of him. **_

_**But as he drew near home, his little boy was so glad to see him that he crept up behind him, and laid fast hold of his legs, and looked up in his face and laughed. Then the father started, trembling with fear and horror, and saw what it was he had bound himself to do; but as no gold was come, he made himself easy by thinking that it was only a joke the dwarf was playing on him, and that, at any rate, when the money came, he should see the bearer, and would not take it in.**_

_**About a month afterwards he went upstairs into a lumber-room to look for some old iron, that he might sell it and make a little money; and there, instead of his iron, he saw a large pile of gold on the floor. At the sight of it he was overjoyed, and forgetting all about his son, he went into trade again, becoming a richer merchant than before. **_

_**Meantime little Heinel grew up, and as the end of the twelve years drew near the merchant began to call to mind his bond, and became very sad and thoughtful; so that care and sorrow became written on his face. The boy one day asked what was the matter, but his father would not tell for some time; at last, however, he said that he had, without knowing it, sold him for gold to a little, ugly-looking, black dwarf, and that the twelve years were coming round when he must keep his word. Then Heinel said, "Father, give yourself very little trouble about that, I shall be too much for the little man." **_

_**When the time came, the father and son went out together to the place agreed upon: and the son drew a circle on the ground, and set himself and his father in the middle of it. The little black dwarf soon came, and walked round and round bout the circle, but could not find any way to get into it, and either could not, or dared not, jump over it. At last the boy said to him, "Have you anything to say to us, friend, or what do you want?" now Heinel had found a friend in a good fairy, who was fond of him, and had told him what to do; for this fairy knew what good luck was in store for him. "Have you brought me what you said you would?" said the dwarf to the merchant. The old man held his tongue, but Heinel said again, "What do you want here?" the dwarf said, "I come to talk with your father, not with you." "You have cheated and taken in my father," said the son, "Pray give him up his bond at once." "Fair and softly," said the little old man, "Right is right, I have paid my money, and your father has had it, and spent it, so be so good as to let me have what I paid it for." "You must have my consent to that first," said Heinel, "so please step in here and we'll talk it over." The dwarf grinned, and showed his teeth, as if he should have been very glad to get into the circle if he could. Then at last, after a long talk, they came to terms. Heinel agreed that his father must give him up, and that so far the dwarf should have his way: but, on the other hand, the fairy had told Heinel what good luck was in store for him, if he followed his own course, and he did not choose to be given up to the dwarf, who seemed so anxious for his company.**_

_**So, to make a sort of drawn battle of the matter, it was settled that Heinel should be put into an open boat, that lay on the sea shore hard by; that the father should push him off with his own hand, and that he should thus be set adrift, and left to the good or bad luck of wind and weather. Then he took leave of his father, and set himself in the boat, but before it got far off a wave struck it, and it fell with one side low in the water, so the merchant thought that poor Heinel was lost, and went home very sorrowful, while the dwarf went his way, thinking that at any rate he had had his revenge. **_

_**The boat, however, did not sink, for the good fairy took care of her friend, and soon raised the boat up again, and it went safely on. The young man sat safe within, till at length it ran ashore upon an unknown land. As he jumped upon the shore he saw a beautiful castle, but empty and dreary within, for it was enchanted. "Here," he said to himself, "Must O find the prize the good fairy told me of." So he once more searched the whole palace through, till he found a white snake, lying coiled up on a cushion in one of the chambers. Now the white snake was an enchanted princess, and was very glad to see him, and said, "Are you at last come to set me free? Twelve long years I have waited here for the fairy to bring you hither as she promised, for you alone can save me. This night twelve men will come: their faces will be black, and they will be dressed in chain armor. They will ask what you do here, but give no answer; and let them do what they will- beat, whip, pinch, or torment you- bear all; only speak not a word, and at twelve o'clock they must go away. The second night twelve others will come; and the third twenty-four, who will even cut off your head; but at the twelfth hour of that night their power is gone, and I shall be free, and shall bring you the Water Of Life, and shall wash you with it, and bring you back to life and health." All came to pass as she said; Heinel bore all, and spoke not a word; and the third night the princess came, and fell on his neck and kissed him. Joy and gladness burst forth throughout the castle, the wedding was celebrated, and he was crowned king of the Golden Mountain. **_

_**They lived together very happily, and the queen had a son. And thus eight years had passed over their heads, when the king thought of his father; and he began to long to see him once again. But the queen was against his going and said, "I know misfortunes will come upon us if you go." However, he gave her no rest till she agreed. At his going away, she gave him a wishing ring, and said, "Take this ring, and put it on your finger; whatever you wish it will bring you; only promise never to use it to bring me hence to your father's house." Then he said he would do what she asked, and put the ring on his finger, and wished himself near the town where his father lived. **_

_**Heinel found himself at the gates in a moment; but the guards would not let him go in, because he was so strangely clad. So he went up to a neighboring hill, where a shepherd dwelled, and borrowed his old cloak, and so passed into the city unnoticed. When he came to his father's house, he said he was his son, but his father would not believe him, and said he had but one son, Heinel, who had perished at sea long ago. And since he was dressed as a poor shepherd, he would not even give him anything to eat. The king, however, still vowed that he was his son, and said, "Is there no mark by which you would know me if I am really your son?" "Yes," said his mother. "our Heinel had a mark like a raspberry on his right arm." Then he showed them the mark, and they knew that what he had said was true. **_

_**He next told them how he was king of the Golden Mountain, and was wed to a princes,, and had a son just turned seven years old. But the merchant said, "That can never be true, he must be a fine king truly, who travels in a shepherds frock!" at this the king was vexed; and forgetting his promise, he turned his ring, wishing for his queen and his son. In an instant they stood before him; but the queen wept and said that he had broken his word, and bad luck would follow. He did all he could to soothe her, and she at last seemed to be appeased, but she was not so in truth, and was only thinking how she should punish him. **_

_**One day he took her to walk with him out of the town, and he showed her the spot where his father cast off the boat upon the waves. Then he sat himself down and said, "I am very much tired, sit by me, and I will rest my head on your lap and sleep awhile." As soon as he had fallen asleep, however, she drew the ring from his finger and crept softly away, and wished herself and her son at home in their kingdom. And when he awoke he found himself alone, and saw that the ring was gone from his finger. "I can never return to my father's house, they will say that I am a sorcerer," said he. "I will journey forth in the world, till I come again to my kingdom." **_

_**So saying he set out and traveled till he came to a hill, where three giants were sharing their fathers' goods; and as they saw him pass they cried out and said, "Little men have sharp wits; he shall part the goods between us." **_

_**Now there was sword that cut off the bearers enemies heads whenever he gave the words "Heads off!"; a cloak that made the owner invisible, or gave him any form he wanted; and a pair of boots that carried the wearer wherever he wished. Heinel said that they must first let him try these wonderful things, that he might know how to set a value on them. They gave him the cloak, and he wished himself a fly, and in a moment he was a fly. "The cloak is very well," said he. "Now give me the sword." "No," said they. "Not unless you swear not to say 'Heads off' and slay us all." He swore it, and they gave it to him, charging him to try it on a tree. He next asked for the boots also, and the moment all three were in his possession, he wished himself to the Golden Mountain, and was there at once. So the giants were left with no goods to share or quarrel about. **_

_**As Heinel came near his castle he heard the sound of merry music; and the people around him told him that the queen was to be wed to another man that very night. Then he threw his cloak around himself, and passed through the hall unseen, and sat himself down by the queen, where no one saw him. But when anything to eat was put on her plate, he took it away and ate it himself; and when a glass of wine was handed to her, he took it and drank it himself; and thus, though they gave her an abundance of food and drink, her plate and cup were always empty. **_

_**Upon this, she was overcome by fear and remorse, and she went to her chamber and sat there weeping; and he followed her there. "Alas," she said to herself, "was I not once set free? Why then does this enchantment still bind me?" "False and fickle one!" said he. "One indeed came to set thee free, and he is now near thee again; but how have you used him? Ought he had to have had such treatment from thee?" **_

_**Then he went out and sent away the company, saying that the wedding was at an end, for he had returned to his kingdom. But the kings, princes, and great men mocked him. However, he would enter into no parley with them, only asking of they would go in peace or not. Then they fell on him and attempted to seize him, but he drew his sword and cried "Heads off!" and Heinel was once again king of the Golden Mountain. **_

By the time I finish my allergies are killing me. This was the most exposure to a book I'd had in weeks, and my eyes were itchy and red and my nose was running. Sabrina had been encouraging me to try building up to reading more gradually, and I had a little bit to appease her, but I really saw no point. I'd lived for thousands of years without reading anything longer than a drive thru menu, and I had done just fine. Still, I was wishing I had now. I'd just gotten started, and I already wanted to quit. I chewed my lip thoughtfully. This Heinel guy had some issues, clearly. He seemed level-headed enough as a kid, but he went off the deep end pretty fast when he found his queen cheating on him. To be honest, she didn't seem like much of a catch to me. She expected him to go through living hell for her the night he met her, then they had to get married as soon as he was back on his feet. How old could he have been? Thirteen, maybe, fourteen or fifteen on the outside. That chick was waaayyy too pushy. And then she gets bent out of shape cuz he made her visit the in-laws. I, personally, am a big fan of my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law isn't too bad, really, but I can see not wanting to visit sometimes. But she made way too big a deal out of it. Then she sneaks back to her beloved mountain and tries to get hitched to another guy? Good riddance, I would say. Talk about marital infidelity. He must have loved her, though. And I would want my mountain and my kid back, too. I think about what I would do if I found Sabrina with another guy. Not that she would _ever_ cheat on the Trickster King. But I think I understand ol' Heinel a little better after that.

**Thanks for reading, and I would like to send a shout out to Michelle, loverofbooks4eva, Bella, who is not the evil frog girl monster, and SabrinaDaphne13. Thanks sooooo much for reviewing, I really appreciate it! In case anyone was wondering, The King of The Golden Mountain is a fairytale I saw when I was browsing for characters when I started this story. I used to get a lot of the details right, although I changed a few things and re-worded a little. I don't know for sure Wilhelm was more involved than Jacob with this story, but I decided on Wilhelm because I think his name is funny. Thanks so much for reading, and if your name is Wilhelm, please don't be offended. Anyone who thinks I should do more Puck, or would like to suggest another POV for me to work in, please put it in a review or PM me. Thanks again!**

**~SugahRush~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry to anyone I told the next chapter would be up this weekend, I was really tired and I didn't get around to it. Anyway, here it is now, and just to be clear, I don't own Sisters Grimm yet, but when I take over the galaxy with the help of the Master and the minions of the planet Ozork- Ahem, I mean, I don't own the Sisters Grimm. To the story!**

**~SugahRush~**

Chapter Four

It takes me a while, but I finish The King of the Golden Mountain without too much trouble. The version I found is a more modern one, and there aren't too many big words. 'Hans' is one messed up dude. So he kills everyone at the wedding, cuz his wife cheated on him? And does everyone include the servants and whatever who were just there because they had no choice? And this sword doohickey didn't seem very user friendly. What happened to his _son_? Did he lose his head because his dad forgot about him, like his grandpa had at the start of this mess?

"What is _with_ this Hans guy? He's crinsane," I say disgustedly.

"Hans? Who's Hans?" Puck asks me.

"Um, duh, the main character? The king of the Golden Mountain?"

"My version says Heinel," Puck says, sounding irritated.

"Great!" Sabrina breaks in. "So we don't even have a name! Wonderful!"

"And what does crinsane mean?" Puck added.

"It means crazy and insane in a very un punk rock way," I tell him. Wincing, I realize that I used two of my old Daphne-ish words. Oops. I've been trying to stop cuz it seems sort of childish. But the last time I tried to be grown up, I was imitating Sabrina, who lied to me and stole the North Wind, then told me she did it for me. But this time, I don't have a role model, I'm just sort of trying to chuck anything that isn't grown up-ish. I don't know if Peter minds the Daphne-ish or not, but I kinda think he might, and I don't want him to think I'm a baby. Oh no, a baby! I think of Sabrina and Pucks', and I feel like the biggest jerk in the world for worrying about what my boyfriend thinks of my vocabulary while my sister's baby's life could be in danger. Not cool, Daphne, not cool. I look around at everyone else in the room. Granny and mom both look really really sad, like close to tears sad, and obviously so does Sabrina. Dad looks tired, and Puck just looks sort of numb, like he can't believe this is happening to him. Well, I can, and I think I need to do something about it. But what can I do? I mean, every detective needs leads, even a fairy-tale detective. And we didn't have any. Oh joy. I look down at Elvis, napping at my feet. Even he looks sad, like he's really worried. I look harder and his eyes look like they have information hidden behind them. I have always thought of Elvis as more intelligent than the average dog, but could he really know something about the case? I sorta doubt it. "You don't know what we should do, either, do you, buddy?" I ask, scratching him behind his ears. It's a rhetorical question, cuz considering that I'm talking to a dog, it seems unlikely I'll get an answer. _No, he does not. But I do. _ The words echo in my head and it's like a combination of hearing them and thinking them. There's a sort of coldness to them, like a voice almost, but I feel them blazing themselves into my mind, and I know they didn't come from my brain. I can almost see the words, written in flames, burning against a black background. It's terrifying. "GRAAAAANNNNNNYYYYY!" I scream. "What is it, liebling?" she asks, bending over me. I hadn't noticed until now I was lying on the floor. I must have fallen out of my chair.

"Granny there's a voice in my head and I can hear it and it says it knows what to do and I'm scared and it knows about Elvis and I don't know who it is and my head hurts and maybe it's a demon or it's evil and I'm scared and I don't know what to do!" I gasp out. All the things I want to say scramble together and it's a good thing Granny always seems to understand what I want to say, cuz I don't think anyone else caught much of it.

"Liebling, you'll be fine," she says soothingly. "What exactly did the voice say? Can you remember?"

"I don't think I'll ever forget," I say. "I was talking to Elvis, and then there's this cold, echo-ey voice in my head, and it says 'No, he does not. But I do,' so I guess this person either knows or wants us to think it knows what we need to do, and I'm scared," I finish.

"Mentioned that," Sabrina mutters. "Like forty times." Usually I would be a little hurt, but she's under a lot of strain and I understand.

Five minutes later Granny has calmed me down, and she has me trying to contact the thing that spoke to me. "But Granny," I start, "It seems like, kind of, um, malevolent, I think? Like it would fry my mind without really being too bothered? Which is bad?"

"I'm sure it won't, liebling, if it wants to contact us, there must be something it wants that we have," she says, and it makes sense but I'm still a little worked up from the initial shock. And I totally get points for the phrase 'initial shock'.

"But maybe it's just hacking around!" Sabrina says. "It's too dangerous until we know how powerful this thing is, and besides, it's not like it's proven it knows what we should do next." I really want to agree with her and sit back and wait till it was safer, but if we ever did figure that out, the _thing_ could decide it didn't want to tell us after all, or the baby could die, or Sabrina could die, or something else bad that I haven't even had time to think of could happen, and I wasn't going to watch that happen to my family.

"No, we have to do it now," I said as calmly as I could. Granny looked unhappy, but she really seemed to believe her argument, and she took a deep breath and turned to me. "Okay, liebling, try to open your mind, and concentrate on the feeling you got when it spoke to you. Whatever you felt when it contacted you, think about that."

I closed my eyes, cuz it seemed like everyone did that when they tried to do something really hard and magical with their minds. I tried to eliminate my other feelings and emotions and just think about what the voice, which I am going to call Bob, made me feel. I'd been scared, and I tried to concentrate on the fear of Bob, not the other fears, for the baby and Puck and Sabrina. And I also thought that Bob was really old, and kind of tired of life, and didn't really care about anyone else's life. So I concentrated on that. "Okay, Granny, what now?" I asked. "Think whatever words you want to say to it," Granny instructed. "I'm calling it Bob now," I said. "Okay," Granny agreed. I thought for a second, and then decided what I wanted to say. _What do you want from us? _I thought/said. Short and to the point. A second later, I felt a cold presence in my head. It hurt like crazy, like there was an ice cube living in my mind. I think I gasped a little, but I couldn't scream or Granny or mom or dad would make me stop and I wouldn't find out what we had to do. _I want you to bring me the slippers of Dorothy, _said Bob.

_But one of the slippers was lost! _I thought/said.

_I am aware. But I believe that the Blue Fairy will restore it to you if you ask it of her, _said Bob.

_Then why don't you get it yourself? _I asked. 

_I am forbidden from leaving my own barrier. I am thought too powerful to be given my freedom, _Bob replied. I frowned.

_Then why should we let you out? Obviously that's why you want the slippers._

_Because I can tell you where to find the King of the golden Mountain._

_We can find him without you if we have to let you out to get the information from you, _I said. No way was I letting Bob out.

_But I don't want out. I want someone else in, _said Bob.

_Who?_ I asked. I thought Bob might be lying, but I was curious.

_Someone of no account to you. An ancient fae. _

_Why do you want them in your barrier?_

_Oh, I don't want them in my barrier. I want them in yours. _

_What? What for?_

_I want those against the Scarlet Hand to win, and with Ergothane on your side, you can. _

_I have to talk to Granny and them about this, _I said, already turning all of this over in my head. Bob was on our side?

_Yes. Of course. We will talk again soon, _said Bob, and I felt the presence let go of my mind. It must have been a long time, because when I opened my eyes I was stiff, and everyone else looked bored and worried at the same time. "Bob wants Dorothy's slippers. And there's this fairy that he wants us to trap in Ferryport Landing to help us, for some reason," I said.

"Did Bob give a name for the fairy?" Granny asked.

"Ergothane," I said.

"But the slippers don't work anymore with only one!" Puck and Sabrina said at the same time.

"I know, he said that we could get the other one from the Blue Fairy."

"Well, we can ask," Granny said doubtfully.

And so it was settled. We decided to go see the Blue Fairy in the morning. So Puck and Sabrina headed out to Puck's car, looking tired and worried. Mom and Dad and Granny all looked tired and worried too, and Mr. Canis just looked tired and sad. So I was the only one who was at all cheerful, which was weird, since I was the one who just risked having her head fried by an angry. . . um. . . Bob. But I didn't want everyone to be depressed, so I had to be the non-depressed one. I sighed and headed up to my room, collapsing on the bright pink bed and closing my eyes. Being non-depressed is hard work._  
_

**Me again, your future supreme ruler! Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and statistics show that you will be less likely to be forced to clean the bathrooms in my enormous palace when I rule the world if you review. Better safe than sorry, right?**

**~SugahRush~**


	5. Dragon Fire and Unicorn Tears

**Hi hi hi! I'm sooo sorry it's been such a long time since my last update, but I've been uber busy. Anyway, I finally got around to writing this, and hopefully my updates will be coming a lot faster, since I'm getting into the rhythm of school, and I finished my other story. Which is kind of suckish. Anyway. So, here it is. And please review. Have a great day! **

**~SugahRush~ **

**Chapter Five**

Stretching, I climbed out of bed and pulled on my robe. I headed downstairs and grabbed my car keys. I was halfway out of the driveway when it occurred to me to get dressed. I was back out in the car looking somewhat presentable in under five minutes. I stuck the key in the ignition and put it in reverse.

Ten minutes later I pulled into the driveway of a pleasant two-story home reminiscent of a Greek temple from the days of old. I stumbled up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell, which had a minotaur carved onto it. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a tall black haired woman wearing a loose white with a gold girdle cord, black leggings, and a pair of metallic gladiator sandals.

Even at 7:15 in the morning, my best friend looked gorgeous. I used to feel a little inferior, when I was a teen, but if there's anything I learned from Athena, it's that beauty, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't really matter. It's what's on the inside. And currently, my inside wasn't doing that well.

Which was why I was here on Athena's front porch. She took one look at me and gasped. "Girlfriend, what happened to you?" she asked gently. She took my hand and tugged me inside.

The interior of her home was as beautiful and well decorated as she was. Huge panels of glass made up about forty percent of the walls. The furniture was all white silk and gleaming, dark mahogany and cherry. Vases of orange tiger lilies and purple orchids sat on side tables. Several parrots flitted around the vaulted ceiling. Our footsteps were muffled by thick, soft carpet.

Athena led me to a sleek white divan. I followed numbly. She gave me a tiny little push, and I sat down. She vanished into the kitchen and was back a couple of minutes later carrying a tray with two glasses of a red liquid on it.

I stared at it for a second. Athena, being from Greek mythology, had somewhat odd taste in drinks and food.

She noticed my hesitation. "Pomegranate juice. With a little something else." I translate this in my head. Some weird fruit and alcohol. I take one of the delicate stemmed glasses and knock back the blood red liquid inside. It tastes sweet and bitter at the same time, and I think of sunsets and the ocean. Its delicious. My eyes widen. "What all is in this stuff?" I ask. "Like I said, pomegranate juice, unicorn tears, and distilled dragon fire," she said. I smile at her. "I think I might need some to go," I sigh.

"What's wrong, 'Brina?" she asked, her almond shaped green eyes studying me closely.

"Daphne found something about an old prophecy. About the baby. And so we were over at my parents', trying to find a copy of it in the journals, and some _thing_ contacted her, and apparently some guy called the King of the Golden Mountain has the prophecy. The thing, Daphne calls it Bob, says we need to get Farrah to fix Dorothy's second slipper, so we can trap some fae in here, and then Bob will help us find this king. And nobody knows what the prophecy even says. It's just supposed to be about the son of the King of Faerie and a mortal. Puck ditched the job, but he's still the king by birthright. Mustardseed is handling things officially, but I'm sure it's about us. I don'; know what to do! And we're supposed to go see Farrah this morning. I have to go."

"Sabrina, gal, you need to cool the jets. Here, finish your pomegranate juice."

I do, and it helps me feel calmer, more in control.

"Thanks, Athena," I say. And she has really helped. I stand up. I really did need to go.

"For everything." she smiles and stands up too. Wrapping me in a hug, she nods. "Good luck. Do you want me to come with?" I shake my head. "I think I'm okay." she nods again. "Bye," I say. She follows me to the door. As I drive away, I feel stronger than before. I feel like maybe the dragon fire has replenished my own.

**Yes, I know. Short. But more to come soon! See ya later! **

**~SugahRush~**


	6. Slippers

**Hi again everyone. Well, I've just started Algebra, and I have a question. Riddle me this: If a is equal to b sq, and c is equal to a sq., who cares? Anyway, I'm surviving it, barely, and here is (drumroll please) chapter six!**

**~SugahRush~**

**Chapter Six**

When I wake up in the morning, light is flooding into my room, and Sabrina is gone. I slide out of bed and head into the kitchen. Four cups of coffee later, I'm this close to being awake.

Then I remember we're supposed to go see Farrah this morning. Oops. And where is Sabrina? No way she's ditching. Maybe she went to get a coffee somewhere.

She hated the stuff when she was a kid, but it more or less keeps her alive now. God knows what that's doing to the baby.

I laugh for a second, remembering the time I switched out this goo she called an "exfoliating moisturizer" for a mix of coffee, Elvis's doggy shampoo, and mayo. It smelled about the same, but had a much funnier effect on her skin.

Ah yes, Sabrina always feared mayonnaise as a child. And for good reason. The Trickster King knew the true value of condiments! Never underestimate your average seasoning. You should have seen my work with paprika!

But I digress. I headed back upstairs, and changed out of my pajamas. I don't really brush my teeth much, but I swished out my mouth with Xtra Cavity Control Scope and headed for the door. I lost my keys again, but it only took me a few seconds to cross the ignition wires on my Ferrari. 6.4 seconds. My best time yet.

I zoomed out of the driveway and headed straight for the Blue Plate Special. Odds were Sabrina was already there. I would have called her but we don't have a land line, and I'm not sure what happened to my phone. Oh well, I needed another one anyway.

Sabrina had been teasing my about being responsible, since I'd had my current one for three months. Most of them last six weeks top.

What can I say? I'm a busy man! I don't have time to keep track of my schedule and my stuff.

And, Verizon had just released a cute little touch-screen number I'd been eyeing.

The Blue Plate Special is about fifteen minutes from out house. If Sabrina is driving. I'm there in under ten. And that's even with the time it took to get a speeding ticket. I collect them.

I climb out of the car. Yes, climb. Without the keys, I can't open the door. Not like it's a big deal. The sunroof is plenty big enough.

While I walk down the sidewalk to the diner, I scan the parking lot for Sabrina's white Porsche. Ah, over there! She's not in the car. Must already be inside.

When I open the door, I immediately hear Marshmallow call me over to a booth tucked in the left corner. The diner looks just like it has for as long as I can remember. I took Sabrina here all the time when we were in high school.

Tiles on the walls and floors, shiny chrome everywhere. There are fifties era posters for Elvis, and various different cars. Ford, Chevrolet, Rolls Royce.

I slip into the booth, next to Sabrina. She has a small milkshake and a small order of fries, and she's dipping her fries in the milkshake like she always does, but hardly eating anything. She looks awful, and that's coming from a guy who thinks she's the most beautiful person on the planet.

I squeeze her hand and order two large bacon cheese burgers and a huge shake. Sabrina might not be hungry, but I perform best when I'm running on a full tank. With that in mind, I get an extra order of fries.

The old lady makes a few weak attempts at conversation, but they just peter out. Personally, I'm fine with that. I just want to finish my food, get that stupid slipper, and find out what's with this prophecy.

Things are moving right along in that direction, when Pan walks in. _With another girl. _Wearing an insanely short skirt and a tiny little tank top.

She's hanging on his arm, eating up everything he says with a big spoon, and laughing like a maniac at something that I'm assuming wasn't supposed to be a joke, from the look on his face.

Of course I would love to assume he's cheating on Marshmallow and go pound him into the dirt, but to his credit he looks like he's trying to get rid of the chick. She looks amazingly annoying.

I can certainly say I had to deal with enough girls like her as a teenager. It can't be avoided when you're as gorgeous as the Trickster King.

Pan's looking around frantically. He looks like Sabrina does when she's planning an escape. You can see the gears turning in his head.

Then his eyes land on Daphne. I study his face. He looks incredibly relieved. He locks eyes with Daphne and mouths "Help me!" she giggles and stands up. She walks toward Pan. "Hi, Peter!" she chirps, kissing him loudly on the cheek. "Oh, I didn't know you'd met Lexi!" The blond glares at Marshmallow, mouthing something. Marshmallow raises one eyebrow. "That wasn't very nice," she says, looking as if she couldn't care less if she tried.

Marshmallow hooks her arm into Pan's. Said flying boy is looking extremely uncomfortable. "Like to join us?" Marshmallow asks Pan. "Sure, Daph," he says, he drags her toward us, and squeezes in next to her. He looks thrilled to be away from this "Lexi". Who wouldn't be?

"Ya'll need anything else? Anyone for dessert? Blue Plate Blueberry Pie is the special of the day, $1.99 a slice!" a cheerful voice says.

"Ah, Farrah! We were just about to go looking for you. We need a wish," The old l- Mrs. Grimm says.

Farrah arches her eyebrows. "Do ya, now? And what kind of wish would that be?"

She blows a bubble and snaps it loudly.

Daphne clears her throat. "We need Dorothy's second slipper. We lost the other one running from a giant."

"Ya don't hear that every day," says Farrah. "Very well. I can try. You folks better follow me out back." she heads for the back door, and we all follow.

There's a small parking lot for the employees behind the diner, and Farrah leads us there.

"Okay, it doesn't work unless someone wishes for it," she says.

"Blue Fairy, I wish that I had both of Dorothy's slippers right now," Sabrina says.

Farrah nods and holds her hands in front of her. She starts forming a ball shape, at first it's white, then blue. There's a snapping and a popping, and then I see a faint outline: a woman's shoe. A second later, the sphere of crackling energy is gone, and the Blue Fairy holds a gleaming silver shoe.

Marshmallow had insisted on seeing the musical once, and they had certainly taken poetic license with the shoes.

If I had to guess, I'd say the thing was made out of Reynolds' Wrap, not rubies.

Farrah hands the shoe to Sabrina. "That was the hard one," she says, winking at us. She waves a hand over her head, and the second shoe appears. "I hope it didn't hit anyone on the way here," she says, handing this one over as well.

"Thanks, Farrah!" Marshmallow says, grinning and snatching the shoes from Sabrina.

Then her face tightens and she speaks. But the voice is cold and deep, not hers at all. "Well done," the voice groans. "Now bring me the slippers, and the girl will get to live out her life with her mind intact."


	7. 7 How May I Be Of Service?

**I'm back! And I want to clear up a mistake. I was reading over the first 6 chapters of my story, and I saw that in Chapter 3, in my last AN, I was giving credit to a website that I used to get the details lined up for The King of The Golden Mountain, and I somehow managed to skip the name of the website. And I forgot which one I used. Ooooops. But anyway. Here's chapter 7. =)**

**Oh, and I don't own the Sisters Grimm. (There would be waaayyy more Puckabrina if I did.) Nuff said.**

Chapter Seven

When I opened my eyes, (which took a ridiculous amount of effort, by the way), everyone was standing around me in a circle. "What?" I asked. I wanted to know just what exactly was going on. One minute, I'm grabbing the slippers from Sabrina so she doesn't do something crazy because of her addiction, and the next I'm lying on the ground, which is really hard, I might add, and it feels like someone crazy-glued my eyes shut.

I don't think that makes a lot of sense. If so, please enlighten me. But anyway.

"Liebling, I think Bob is not on our side after all," said Granny.

"What? Did he contact someone?"

"Yes, Liebling. He contacted you."

"Me? Then why don't I remember?

"I don't know. But he threatened us."

"What did he say?"

"He said that either we bring him the slippers or he turns your brain into a vegetable," Sabrina cut in.

"He said that? Bob always struck me as more. . . eloquent," I said, surprised. Maybe that was fake, too.

"Well, not in so many words," Sabrina admitted. "But that was the general idea," she added.

I frowned. Goody gum drops.

"So. What do we do, then?" I asked.

"Give _it_ the slippers, of course!" Dad snapped.

"But, Dad, should we? I mean, I wasn't sure 'bout giving Bob the slippers to start with, and I really don't think Bob is helping his case here, and besides, I don't think he'll help us now anyway," I pointed out.

"But _I_ think that he _will_ fry your brain without a second thought," said Mom.

"But we can't give him the slippers! Maybe he'll let out the Everafters who want the Hand to resurface, or maybe take over the world by himself. Or maybe this Ergothane guy will help him," I said.

Then I felt a cold presence in my mind. Bob was back. _Bring me the slippers._

This time was different. He wasn't speaking to me, he was giving me an order. _Bring me the slippers._

I felt an incredible force dragging me, and I had to obey, or else I would go insane. Every molecule of my brain was screaming to forget everything but self preservation and do as Bob said.

And why not? Why shouldn't I? There had to be a reason I didn't want to, I was sure of it.

But I couldn't seem to remember why. There was something, something buried deep in my mind, telling me not to bring the ruby slippers to Bob. But what was it? Something to do with Sabrina. I was close to remembering, when Bob's voice came into my head again. _Bring me the slippers, and I may yet let you and your family live,_ he said. My family! That was why I couldn't gave Bob the slippers!

And now they were the reason I had to give them to him.

I nodded. _Okay_, I thought/said. _What do I have to do?_

_It is simple. Imagine yourself giving them to me, and it will happen._

My eyes were already closed, but I opened them, and then closed them again, for good measure. I had no idea what Bob looked like, so I imagined myself handing the slippers to a cloaked stranger. I was keenly aware that cloaked strangers are always bad guys in movies.

And then I felt the slippers vanish.

When I opened my eyes, (again), they were gone, and everyone in my family looked shocked.

"They're gone!" Dad said. Thanks, Mr. Obvious.

"I guess deciding whether or not to give Bob the slippers is a non issue now," said Puck.

"Who wants another burger? And that pie sounded good."

Sabrina buried her face in Puck's shoulder, already crying buckets. Here we go again.

"But why did he bother to ask for them, if he could just take them?" my Mom wonders, looking confused.

"He couldn't, Mom. I gave them to him."

_Yes. And I appreciate it greatly. How may I be of service? _

**Hee hee. Cliffie! Sort of. Now, we all know I hate giving spoilers of my own stories. Or at least I do. You probably had no idea. But anyway. Next chapter: We meet Bob! Oh, and by the way, I want to correct another mistake. You know where Bob says he wants "those against the Hand to win"? Well, I should have said that Bob wanted the Grimms to keep the group of Everafters trying to bring back the Hand trapped in the barrier. You probably figured that out, but I just wanted to make sure. Thanks for reading! Oh, and don't forget to review! (If you flame me, that's okay, I find flames entertaining.)**

**~SugahRush~**


	8. Golden

**Chapter Eight**

Granny's eyes almost popped out of her head as she goggled at Daphne. I raised my head from Puck's shoulder. What did Bob want? One minute he's threatening Daphne, the next he's taken the slippers from her and is talking like a butler from an old movie.

If that makes sense to you, you need a shrink. I urge you to seek professional help. ASAP.

Daphne sat up, rubbing her head. "Well, what _do_ we want him to do? I didn't even know he was gonna help us at all."

I frowned. "We still don't," I pointed out. "He hasn't really been trustworthy."

"You can tell us where the King of the Golden Mountain lives," suggested Puck, eager to get this show on the road.

_Oh, but I can do so much more than that. I can take you to him. Even the Everafter. _

"Does he live outside the barrier, then?" I asked.

_Yes. In a place you know well. New York City._

"Oh, good. I missed all the sightseeing last time," Puck said sarcastically.

"You rode a giant green robot through Times Square," I reminded him.

He just shrugged like it was no big deal or anything. I laughed. Maybe Bob had taken the slippers, but he might help us anyway. Wait a minute.

"Why did you contact Daphne before when you can just talk to us like this?" I asked.

_This takes far more effort. And I wanted the girl to feel my presence, know that I had the power to help you. I can't stay long in a human mind, though. When I was young and ignorant, I stayed in hosts too long occasionally. There were some very messy deaths. _

I nodded. The answer, though disturbing, made sense. I wondered what technically caused the deaths, and then decided not to think about it. I had enough on my mind as it was.

"Well, now is as good a time as any," said Granny.

"Is there anything we should take along?" Daphne asked.

I wasn't sure if she was talking to Bob or us, but it was a good question. Who knew what we might encounter at the Golden Mountain?

_You will not require weapons. I will warn you, though, there is a chance the King will ask you to perform a task. He will provide you with anything you may need for that, however, so the only thing you need bring is your wits and your courage._

I almost snorted. This Bob was waaayy too dramatic. Still, I expected we would need our wits and our courage. It was good advice, if a little melodramatic. It was also good to know we might be expected to do a job for the King. Best not to be caught off guard. Although who knows what the task might be?

_Are you ready, Grimms? _Inquired Bob.

"Yes," everyone said.

_Blue Fairy. It has been a long time. _

"Yes, it has," said Farrah, speaking for the first time during the conversation with Bob.

_Please step away. No need for you to join us._

Farrah stepped back a couple of yards. When she was out of the way, I felt a wind start building around us. MY hair and clothes didn't move at all, but I felt the wind nonetheless. Everyone around me seemed perfectly comfortable with it, but I've always hated magical wind. So. . . unnatural. Wind is an element, right? It's air, basically.

And so a magical wind seems strange. Unsettling. I close my eyes, so I don't have to watch. A minute later, I feel Puck tap my shoulder.

I open my eyes and gaze around. We're in a beautiful place. There's a shimmering on the horizon, far off in the distance, that must be the ocean. I can almost taste the salt in the fresh breeze.

The sun shines bright and golden, the sky is blue with fluffy white clouds, and tall freen grass waves in the breeze.

It's a glorious day here, and the breeze is real, not Bob's magic.

I drink in the beautiful place with my eyes, feeling the sun on my face. I turn around to see what's off to the East, and I see it: The Golden Mountain.

**I know it's a bit short, but I really liked this break off point. Plus, I'm going to work on the next chapter some today, so hopefully I'll have that up pretty soon. Sorry my update wasn't up too quickly, but I've been a little under the weather. Thanks for reading!**

**Peace Love Mangos,**

**SugahRush**


	9. Needles and Drawbridges

**Hey everyone. I am so so so sorry it took me so long to update, but the muse hasn't been with me, if you will. Plus I've been busy. Oh, and guys: if you read WHIP, you already know this, but my favorite cousin is getting MARRIED! Yay! Anyway, congratulations to her, and thanks for reading! Enjoy chapter nine. =]**

** Chapter Nine **

I'm not really sure where we are exactly. I don't think it's a magical land, there's only one place that feels magical. Being an Everafter, I can sense it, and the only thing on the radar is the Golden Mountain.

I gaze around, trying to find a landmark I recognize. Waaaiiiittt a second. This doesn't look a thing like New York City. So, where are we? Bob did seem to have taken us to the Mountain, but this was _not _ a big city. It was a gorgeous spot on the coast. A coast, anyway. Who knew which one? It had to be way far away from Ferryport Landing, though, for the weather to be this different. It looked like late spring or early summer.

Sabrina frowned. "This is definitely not New York."

"Really? No way," Daphne snapped.

"Well, the mountain is over there," Mrs. Grimm said, her faint German accent more pronounced. She always does that when she's upset.

"Then we should check it out! We don't have all week," I exclaimed.

"He makes a point. We need to find out where we are, anyway. Maybe whoever's up there knows."

I turned my head. Pan was here? I thought Bob had left him back at the Blue Plate Special. Great. I was having a wonderful day. But he did have a point, there. It sure looked like a Golden Mountain, and we needed to know where exactly we were, as this was obviously not New York.

However, Pan was not calling the shots. "Let's go, then," I ordered, heading off toward the mountain. Everyone followed me. I noticed Pan rolling his eyes, but he followed Daphne.

It really was a gorgeous place. But I didn't like it. It felt like something bad was going to happen.

Yeah, something really bad. The mountain looked like a giant gold cone turned upside down, with little turrets near the top, windows that looked like arrow slits, and a gate with a drawbridge and a small moat. The drawbridge was up and the gate locked. Well, we'd figure that out when we got there.

"Who's going to stay with Sabrina?" I asked. I would have liked to stay and protect her, but I was probably going to be our best bet for accomplishing whatever task there was to perform inside.

"What? Stay with me? I'm going too!" she gasped, looking shocked that I might think that a five months pregnant woman isn't the ideal person to take into a magical mountain run by a homicidal lunatic.

"No, you're not," Henry said. Excellent! I was getting some support on this.

"You can't make me stay!"

Daphne sighed slightly. She pulled a tiny needle from her pocket and sidled over to Sabrina. Sabrina was so busy yelling she didn't notice Daphne prick her arm with the needle. Sabrina fainted instantly. I caught her and held her bridal style. She weighed more, now, but she still wasn't that heavy.

"You have any more of those, Marshmallow? I have to get one!" I said. That thing could come in handy. It's rare, but I do occasionally lose a bet. I would be tempted to use it on Sabrina, too, sometimes, if it weren't for her addiction. She was only to be around magic as part of the rehab program that Morgan le Fay, Snow White, and Nurse Sprat had devised, or a situation like this, where it was necessary.

"Nope, sorry. There's only one in the world. It's the Little Tailor's needle sword. He's only about three inches tall, but he won tons of fights. Uncle Jake suspected that it was more than just a needle, and so we went and sniffed it out. It's one of a kind! Sorry."

I shrugged. "No worries. But someone does have to stay with Sabrina."

"Daphne and I could," suggested Pan. I would have loved to leave him behind, but not with Marshmallow. She could take care of herself where enemies were concerned, but I wasn't sure about friends. I was going to have to suck it up, and ask Pan to go with us.

"No," I said. "I'm gonna need some back up. The o- Mrs. Grimm and Veronica can stay."

It sounded reasonable to me. Mrs. Grimm was getting old, so she shouldn't go in, and Veronica was an amazing fighter. She fought her best when she was teamed up with Henry, but I would still bet money on her against most of the humans, and some of the Everafters, that I know.

But of course, she interpreted that as me trying to keep her out of it.

"Oh no! I'm going too, and there's nothing you can do about it! Henry can stay."

"What? I think not! I'm going to have to do that task, probably, and-" poke.

"Dad will only be out for five minutes," Daphne said. "He can stay with Sabrina and Granny."

"The Marshmallow makes sense," I agreed. "Mrs. Grimm, do you mind?" Asking was overkill. She was staying whether she liked it or not. But my other tactics hadn't worked, so I was trying a new one.

"No. I am an old lady. I will be no help, and Sabrina might need something."

I nodded. "Great! Let's go." I hugged Mrs. Grimm, kissed Sabrina, and strode off towards the mountain, moving quickly. I wanted to be inside before Henry came to. Just in case he decided to come along after all.

We reached the drawbridge in just a couple of minutes. I frowned at it. I was just about to fly over and see if there was any way to force the gate when the drawbridge swung down.

I looked at the others. They nodded. I walked across it and knocked on the gate.


	10. The King

**Hey guys! Here's Chapter Ten!**

**Chapter Ten**

Puck rapped hard on the gate. I doubted anyone would be able to hear, but I didn't see a knocker or bell. There was a pause. We waited for a couple of minutes. It seemed like forever.

Then the gate melted in a shower of gleaming gold, and it rushed out, flowing across the golden drawbridge. I jumped back, knowing the molten gold was probably boiling hot. You can never tell, with magic. I lifted myself into the air and swooped over to Daphne. I tried to lift her up, but couldn't. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled slightly, but her feet were glued to the drawbridge. I glanced at the melted gate. It was solid now, and everyone but me was stuck.

I frowned. This had not been a good day so far. Sighing, I pulled the feather out of my hat and started to wave it in the air, creating a sort of box ish pattern, and keeping this up for about thirty seconds. There was a slight pop, and a glow from inside my box of air. I tucked the feather back into my hat, and crossed my arms.

"Busy, Tink? That took forever," I said.

"Whatever. I have a life, too, you know," she groused, but she was always like that. She probably was excited to have an adventure to go on.

"Yes, I know. There anything you can do to help us here?"

"Ooh! I've always loved these! Melting gates. A nice style to it, don't you think?"

"So you know how to fix it, then?"

"Heck no! You need one of three people: The person who created it, the person it was made for, or Merlin, and I imagine he's indisposed. Invented them, you know."

"Fudge."

"Indeed. What are you doing here? Damsel in distress? And what's with the tour group?"

"Daphne's sister needs a prophecy from here."

"Ah. Well, summon the master of the mountain, then."

"What?"

"Summon the master of the mountain."

"How's that work?"

"This isn't a time for joking, is it? You're on a mission."

"No, really."

Tink rolled her eyes at me and sighed. "I can't do it for you, it's your quest. Raise your right hand."

I did, waiting for further instructions.

"Now say 'King of the mountain, I would speak with you. Do not turn away a questing knight errant from your lofty thresh hold.' "

" 'King of the mountain, I would speak with you. Do not turn away a questing knight errant from your lofty thresh hold.' What's with that? We're not knights."

"You are now. The King is still living in the past. Look down."

I did. I was wearing a full suit of armor. As soon as I saw it, I felt it's weight, dragging me down. It was all I could do not to sink into the moat. Puck and Canis had armor as well, while Daphne and Veronica were wearing leather armor that looked far lighter over tunics of purple and gold. I sighed.

"This is soooo cool!" Daphne grinned. "Look, I have an actual bow! Too bad I can't shoot."

I had a sword, as well as a shield with a flying boy on it. All that was missing was the horse.

"So, where are the valiant steeds?" I grumbled sarcastically. There was a whinnying, and suddenly I was on top of about four tons of horse. The others were mounted as well, although my horse was by far the largest. Daphne was petting hers, and looked delighted. "Mom, can I keep it? He could live with the unicorns!"

Veronica just sighed.

"Go ahead. A gift from me to you. Just leave me alone. I don't like knights errant. A lot of bother, and far too noble for me," said a voice. It was reedy and hollow sounding, that of a very old man who had seen a lot of things in his lifetime, and was very tired of the world.

I looked over at the speaker. It was an old man, wearing a flowing crimson robe, and with a white beard that was at least three feet long. He looked very sad. I felt sorry for him immediately.

"We need a prophecy. We've heard that you have it, and we were taken here by someone who said you might ask us to perform a task for you," said Henry, getting right to the point.

"Oh? And did this mysterious friend of yours say what I might ask of you?"

"No."

"I did not think so. What do you think an appropriate task might be?" 

"I don't know. I'm sort of new at this retrieving archaic prophecies thing."

"Well, as it happens, if you refer to the prophecy of The King of Faerie, then you are out of luck. I had a man ask it of me, and he brought me an apple from the tree of Golden Apples, and I gave it to him."

Everyone groaned. Including me. "Can you tell us what the prophecy said?" I asked.

"No. I was given it by a very old and very wise person who told me not to open it for anything in the world. I was to keep it for a thousand years, and then pass it on to the first quester who performed a task that showed them clever and brave enough to possess such a piece of information, and give them the same instructions as she gave to me. So I did as I was asked."

"Did this person say if the prophecy. . . if it was. . . bad?" Veronica asked.

"I was told only that it's time would come, and that it would make some very happy and others very sad. I cannot say whether you are to made happy or sad. I wish you luck. If you like, you may stay the night here. I have plenty of space, as you can see."

"Where are we?" Daphne wanted to know.

"Why, New York City. Have all of you been to the land of Faerie? Yes? Good. The door to this place works similarly. You only have to repeat the summons you gave me while standing on the drawbridge to leave."

"Thanks for offering to let us stay, but we really should be going now."

"Then I bid you farewell." he turned to leave.

"Wait! How are we supposed to leave? And are we going to pop up in New York looking like this?"

The old man drew what looked like a magic wand from his wide sleeve, and waved it at everyone in turn, then at the drawbridge. The knight outfits and the horses disappeared, and the only things left that we hadn't had before were a golden medallion on a chain around each of our necks.

The gold that held everyone else down flowed back, forming itself into a gate in front of the King of the Golden Mountain.


	11. Ultrasound

**Okay, guys. I just realized I made a mistake on the last chapter. When they're on the drawbridge, I accidentally included Henry in the conversation. That was supposed to be Veronica. Sorry about that!**

**Chapter Ten **

About fifteen minutes after they set off for the mountain, Puck, Peter, Daphne, Mr. Canis, Uncle Jake, and mom returned. They all looked defeated.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He said he gave the prophecy to someone else," Daphne replied.

"Who?" Dad said.

"We didn't ask. They're supposed to keep it for a thousand years, so it wouldn't have helped," said Puck.

I smashed my fist into a tree. I felt kind of stupid, but it was good lo let out my anger. Why was this happening to me? I would have hit the tree again, but Daphne stopped my hand. I sighed.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

Nobody knew. So we headed back to the drawbridge, and Peter repeated the summons.

There was a big flash, and then we were back in the Big Apple. In Central Park again. When I was little, I had always thought that New York was magical. How right I was.

We were as far away from other human beings as was possible in a place like New York, so Uncle Jake pulled an amulet out right there in the middle of Central Park and wished us back to Ferryport Landing.

We were right outside the Blue Plate Special again. I headed to my car and climbed in. I drove home automatically, sort of paying attention but not really. I knew this town like the back of my hand. There were two traffic lights now, and some of the streets had been totally redone recently after an unfortunate incident involving Baba Yaga, the abominable snowman, and some very angry chickens, but it was still tiny and quaint.

I parked my car in the driveway, and walked up to the house, feeling totally numb. After a few minutes, Puck walked in the front door. Neither of us said anything, we just got ready for bed and fell asleep, completely exhausted, mentally and emotionally.

The next morning, I got straight up. I wasn't going to dive headlong into depression and sit there like a vegetable, I was going to do everything I could to save my baby. I brushed my teeth and got dressed, wondering where Puck was. Probably off trying to find out what we were going to do.

I picked up the cordless phone and walked over to the fridge, scanning down the list of important numbers till I found the one I was looking for.

I dialed the number and waited. Someone picked up after the second ring.

"Hello? I need an appointment right away. It's an emergency!" I said.

"Ok, ma'am, please don't panic, just come down to the office and we'll see what we can do," a calm, reassuring voice said.

I hung up, then thought that they might want my name or a description of my problem. But I decided to just go down to the office now, and sort things out when I got there.

Thirty minutes later, I walked into the offices of Sprat & Jones, and headed straight for the desk, ignoring the people patiently waiting, reading copies of National Geographic.

"Excuse me, I need to see Dr. Sprat immediately," I said. "I think my baby is in trouble."

The woman at the desk frowned over her glasses at me. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked.

"No, but this is important!"

"Then you will have to wait. I'm sorry, but there are people in line," she said severely.

I groaned and stalked off to a chair in the waiting room. Fortunately, it was only half an hour until Dr. Sprat was available. After the war, she had gone back to school to get her doctorate, and a year after that started Sprat & Jones with a human classmate of hers. Dr. Jones was in the dark about magic and Everafters, but Dr. Sprat still managed to treat magical sicknesses and pass them off as normal illnesses. Everafters never got sick, but there were plenty of little injuries in the course of their long lives.

A young woman in scrubs showed me into Dr. Sprat's examining room. A few minutes later, I was getting an ultra sound. I didn't want to look at the picture on the screen.

"Isheokay?" I asked super fast.

"Yes. Seems perfectly healthy. What had you so worried?"

"Well, there's this prophecy, see, and-wait a minute."

I squinted at the screen for a couple of seconds, then grabbed for my bag, fished around, and pulled out my cell phone.

I dialed Puck's number and tapped my foot impatiently while I waited for him to pick up.

"Sabrina? What is it?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Puck, honey, I don't think the prophecy is a problem anymore," I said.

"Why? How come?"

"Because it's a girl."


End file.
